Annual Apathy
by AcuteCoffeePie
Summary: "Life is good." For Dan, that little saying couldn't be any more wrong. His life is far from anything good...or so he thinks. Rated T for abuse, swearing, and dark themes. (Author's Note: This takes place during Dan's pre-teen years, by the way.)
1. Chapter 1

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"UGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH." Dan groaned under the faded,hole-covered blankets

. He yawned and shifted in a way to where he was now facing the source of the obnoxious sound: the alarm clock. After forcing his eyes open and groggily making himself sit up, he flipped the switch to 'OFF' to make the annoying noise cease. Once he was done stretching out his arms and legs, Dan made his way across the trash heap he called his room. The young boy pulled up the blinds on his window. He shielded his eyes, in preparation for the glaring sunlight that he thought would surely stream in…Instead, he heard the heavy pitter-patter of rain pouring from the gray, dreary sky above.

"...Great…...Just what I need." he mumbled to himself while rummaging through a pile of laundry on his floor for an outfit to wear for the day.

He threw on a wrinkled T-shirt and a pair of jeans with grass stains all over them. Now all that he needed to do was to do something about the tangled mess that was his hair. Typically, he would not have cared to go to such lengths as to comb it or lather it in gel...but...but today was...different.

Ten minutes passed and Dan emerged from the bathroom, hair spiffed up and looking neat. He sauntered over to his old backpack with missing zippers. After cramming in a few pieces of homework, he exited his bedroom. He made his way down the seemingly endless hallway. The walls were covered with mold and picture frames were uneven. The carpet below was an ugly yellow sort of color with stains of who-knows-what all over. This was nothing new to Dan. This is the kind of surrounding he's always known.

After what seemed to be eternity, he finally made it to the end of the long, narrow corridor and was now in the front room. With calm, emotionless eyes he took it all in. The shattered bottles of beer, the television stuck on the channel of static, papers and clothing lying on the floor. He also noted that the air smelled heavily of cigarette smoke and alcohol…...Nothing new here. He huffed and staggered over to the couch of which is mother laid sprawled upon, snoring loudly. Her hair was in tangles and her pajamas were shabby. In her right hand was a half empty flask of whiskey. Nothing new here either.

"Hey...hey, mom. Wake up." The sixth grader nudged his parental guardian.

Nothing.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Mom. Get up. I have school to get to."

The woman groaned and opened one eye to look at her son. A scowl formed on her face.

"The hell did you wake me up for?"

"I need to get to school, mom." Dan huffed.

"Pfft, you have two feet, don't ya? Get there yourself and stop fucking bothering me, you little brat." she grumbled, placing her head back on the pillow.

"But I'll be late AGAIN if I have to walk there….AGAIN." he pointed out, crossing his arms.

The response he got was a hard, slap across the face. He fell to the cluttered floor and cupped the side of his face impacted by the hit. Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to prevent tears from rising. A pained hiss escaped his mouth. Slowly, he then looked up at his attacker who had risen to her feet. She gave him a cold, unapologetic glare. With a quick swipe, she snatched her son's shirt by the collar and looked him right in the eye.

"Listen, kid and listen good: Do NOT sass me. I'm the one in charge here. If I say "jump", you say "How high?". DON'T talk back. Got it?" she growled menacingly.

Dan, still slightly in shock, said and did nothing.

His mother sharply shook him by the collar. "GOT IT?!"

This time, the boy gave a slow, single nod. He kept his eyes cast downward.

"Good." she smirked. "Maybe you ain't so stupid after all." After releasing her tight grip on Dan's shirt, she got back on the couch.

The tween sat up, hesitantly and dusted himself off. After he rose to his feet, he turned his head towards his parental unit.

"...Don't you even know what today is?" he mumbled softly. There was a tad of emotional hurt in his voice.

The woman just shrugged. "Yeah, it's Tuesday. Duh. Now go on. Get outta here. Sheesh, how damn hard is it to get some peace and quiet?" She turned herself around, obviously going back to sleep.

Dan sighed and slowly made his way out the door. The heavy rain poured on him as he tried run towards Van Nuys Elementary. Lightning flashed across the dreary sky and thunder boomed loudly. A harsh, chill wind blew strongly against Dan as he dashed down sidewalks and around curbs. He zig-zagged around bystanders on the streets as quickly as he could, clinging onto the false hope that he would somehow not be tardy. His face still stung from the blow received by his mother. Her cruel words still words still rang in his ears. This wasn't a first. He lost count of the number of times he's been physically and emotionally abused by his parent. But did she have to be so cruel TODAY? Doesn't she know that it's more than just another Tuesday? Didn't she realize that this day was-

BRRRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGG!

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the final bell. He looked up and saw that his school was about a block away. Dan exhaled heavily and picked up speed.

Great. He was going to be late...once more. This morning was starting off fabulously.

He burst through the main entrance and zoomed down the halls. Making a sharp left turn, he sped up the stairs as fast as he could, not wanting to be any more tardy than he already was. As soon as he reached the second floor, a tall, middle-aged woman with violet suit and maroon glasses stepped in front of the tween. Uh oh. Principal alert. She took off her glasses and polished them.

"And just where do you think you are going, young man?" she asked coldly, her foot tapping against the tile floor.

Dan shifted uncomfortably. "Um, to my first class?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, now?"

"Uh...yeah…"

The principal crossed her arms. "Hmmmm...I believe that first hour started ten minutes ago. Any reason why you are just now going there?"

Dan bit his lip and looked downward. "Er, I…..uh...I...overslept?"

"Is that so?" the woman queried.

"Y-yes, ma'am." he mumbled, fidgeting with his backpack.

The principal sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Dan, do you have any idea how many tardies you have? I'm afraid I'm going to have send you to detention after school this afternoon."

"W-what?!" the boy exclaimed. "But that's not fair!"

The woman glared at him. "How so? You can't just be late all the time and receive no punishment. Sorry, Dan. Maybe now you'll learn to be more punctual. Now, run off to your class."

"Hmph. Fine." he huffed while trudging down the long corridor. Great. Just flippin' great. First, the rain. Then, his asshole mother. After that, his run to school in the freakin' downpour. And now a detention!

This could NOT get any worse. he thought to himself as he entered the class only to receive a disapproving glare from his teacher, Mrs. Burswell. Life sure likes to prove me wrong, doesn't it?

"Well, well. Look who FINALLY decided to arrive. Class, how many times has this young man been late so far?" she quizzed.

Little Suzie Sue raiser her hand. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Burswell. I lost count after 22."

"Last I checked it was...33!" Benny piped up.

"Nuh uh! It was 34!" retorted Mike.

The teacher raised both her hands, signaling for silence. "Alright, alright, students. The point has been made." She craned her head over to Dan who was blushing from humiliation. "YOU may go take a seat." The young boy did as he was told and slowly made his way to his desk, many pairs of eyes glaring at him.

The woman cleared her throat. "Okay, class. Get with your groups and start discussing your projects."

What the heck is she saying? What projects? I don't remember being assigned anything!

Dan raised his hand sheepishly. "Uh, ….what...projects? And, er, what group am I in...exactly?"

"Ah, well, if you made it to class on time, perhaps you would already know." She scowled at him for a minute, though it felt like an hour. She rolled her eyes and groaned. "You are in group number 2, Dan. Your fellow group members will tell you what the project is."

"Okay...where's group 2 at?" he asked, averting her eyes.

Mrs. Burswell sucked in her cheeks and sighed. "Over in back corner."

"Thanks." he grumbled while going over.

As he joined the group, the other kids just stuck their noses in the air and pretended that he was not even there. They ignored his questions and left him in the dark. Dan wasn't really too surprised by this mistreatment. He's not exactly well-liked by anyone at school. Classmates would taunt and tease him. They'd make fun of his worn out clothes, his dirty hair, the fact that he basically had to walk to school everyday, his lack of friends, and so on. The teachers did not take notice or if they did, they most certainly did not care in the slightest. In fact, they may have even enjoyed it. Was it humorous to see a student with a record for bad behavior get picked on? Did anyone ever wonder why he wore the clothes he had or acted the way he did?

Did anyone notice the scars?

While so deep in thought, Dan unconsciously brought a hand to rub the side of his face of which was hit earlier by his mother. The action caused a stinging sensation and he quickly pulled his hand away. A sharp, pained hiss escaped his mouth. This caused a few children in the group to look over at him with puzzled expressions. One girl noticed the slightly red side of his face.

"Hey." she pointed. "What happened to your cheek?"

Dan crossed his arms and looked down. He knew she was asking just out of curiosity and not of concern. Whatever. It's not like he expected anybody in the whole stinkin' school to give two cents about him. Heck, he didn't expect anyone in the entire world to care about his well being in the slightest.

(End of Part One)


	2. Update! Author's Note

Hola everyone! Wow I'm surprised by the number of followers this story has! :3 Well, I just wanted to say that I AM continuing this and should have the second (and final) chapter up by Sunday evening at the latest.

I most likely would have had it up sooner but college, work, holidays, and the fact that my computer broke down got in the way of that. :P Luckily though, we just recently got a new computer so, as I said earlier, part 2 will be posted soon! :)

Have a great day!


	3. Chapter 2

Everybody only saw him as some hot headed, filthy, scheming, no-good punk that has no redeemable qualities. That's how it's always been and Dan did not expect their mindset to change anytime soon. Not that it mattered to him or whatever…

Any hopes of the day becoming even slightly better were all dashed away. During gym class, Dan was pelted with dozens of the "red spheres of pain", as he liked to put it. He failed yet another math test that he actually tried to study for but still couldn't understand a thing. At lunch, the supposedly "nutritious" meal was a chunk of meat that appeared to be anything BUT healthy and tasty. When it was time for art class, Little Suzie Sue and her prissy posse of frilly snobs dumped a canister of green paint all over him. Then, his science lab project caught fire and everyone ended up getting a shower while he received numerous angry glares. To top the atrocious school day off, Dan got into a fight during recess after Benny unleashed an unholy amount of harsh names upon him.

"_Why does today, of all the stinkin' days in the year, have to be the absolute worst one?" _ He thought to himself.

At exactly three o'clock, the final bell rang, signaling that school was done for the day. A stampede of joyful, loud kids dashed out the main entrance. With eyes full of envy, longing and a bit of sorrow, Dan watched from the detention hall window as the other students happily headed to their nice, warm homes with their nice, warm families. This sight would have been a sweet one to most, but it was cruel one for tween clenched his fists and turned away. The only noise that could be heard in the small, grey room with flickering lights was the wall clock with it's excessive tick-tocking.

At the head of the room, relaxing at a large metal desk, was Mr. Gurand, the detention monitor, snoring away. Scattered among the room were various children, who, like Dan, did not have the greatest reputation. Some of them were playing their portable gaming systems while others were tossing paper airplanes all around. They'd laugh and tell jokes with each other, careful to not disturb the snoozing adult. While they were troublemakers like Dan, they had something he did not.

Friends.

Well, that's not COMPLETELY true. Dan DID have one friend but he hadn't seen him since summer camp. Now, he felt truly alone. With a heavy sigh, he stared achingly at the clock, praying that time would somehow go faster so he could be released from this dreary hell. Finally, at 4:30, the principal stepped in, frowned at the sleeping Mr. Gurand and dismissed the class. The little rascals got outta that place as quick as they could. Dan, on the other hand, just slung his backpack over his shoulders and trudged behind them. While he was previously anxious to be free from the "land of torture and suffering" (a.k.a school), he wasn't really too thrilled to be returning home either. He was quite obviously not liked...or loved there either.

As he sulked home on that cloudy evening, he tried to be hopeful and believe that as soon as he arrived back at the house, his mother would remember what was so special about today and perhaps (if he was reeaaaalll lucky) receive one of those hug things he hears so much about. A thick growl clawed it's way out of his throat. He rapidly shook his head right to left.

"_Gah! Who the heck am I kidding?! Nothing will change." _

After fifteen, quiet minutes, he finally arrived at his destination. His house, on the outside, looked almost as trashy as it did within. The lawn was waaaay overdue for a mowing session. Garbage was littered in basically every corner. The mailbox was full of dents. Grafitti was sprawled all about on the grey, ramshackle home's exterior. Through the various cracked windows, Dan noticed that there was not a light lit inside, possibly signaling that nobody was there at the time being.

With the last few rays of hope in his heart dimming, he plodded up to the house. He now stood face to face with the tall, wooden door. With a shaky hand he slowly turned the knob and gently pushed it open.

The interior looked just as awful as it did as he left it that morning. Heck, it may have even become worse. He tossed his tattered backpack onto the long, vomit-green couch with uneven cushions. With a small gulp, he called out through the silence.

"Hello? Mom?"

He shuffled down the hallway, checking each room he passed by to see if his mother was inside. First, the bathroom. No one. Next, the laundry room. Nope. Then, her bedroom. Nobody. This only left one place in the entire house to check. The kitchen.

The tween swiftly walked down the corridor, through the living room and around the corner to the kitchen. It was pitch black. His hands fumbled around the wall in an attempt to find the light switch. As soon as he felt it, he flipped it on.

Just as he feared. There wasn't anybody to be found.

Bummed that his suspicions were correct, he went over to the round dining table, planning to sulk for the rest of the Tuesday evening. However, his brooding was interrupted when he saw a note lying on the table's surface. He picked it up and read it out loud.

_Went out with Fred tonight. Doubt I'll be back tonight. Don't be a pest and try calling me. Do NOT get into any trouble or, so help me, you are never gonna see daylight again. Also, clean up the damn house. It's a freakin' pigsty. See ya tomorrow._

A strong mixture of rage, disappointment, and hurt overwhelmed him. Dan gritted his teeth, quickly crumpled up the piece of paper and with a loud cry, threw it onto the ground. He was basically seeing red at this point. He reached out for the flower vase and hurled it against the wall, shattering it into an unfixable state. Still not satisfied, he marched over to the countertop, where multiple dirty bowls and plates laid upon, and knocked the dishes over. Pulling out various drawers, he poured out all the silverware and kitchen utensils that were inside. He kicked over the trash can. He flipped over the table. He ripped pictures down from the wall.

This whole time, he didn't even realize he was sobbing.

It wasn't until he was exhausted from repeatedly punching the daylights out of the defenseless refrigerator that he took notice of the tears stream down his red face. Steadily, he slid down to the floor. Sobs still racked his body, causing his shoulders to convulse wildly. Sniffles and whimpers were the only source of noise in the whole house.

_Why? Why the heck does she do this? I try and try and TRY to be good all the time. I TRY to make her happy. I TRY to do what she wants. What the hell have I done to deserve this crap?! I'm sick of it! She doesn't even give two cents about me. Heh, she has the damn nerve to not even be around today of ALL days. I-I….I don't know what to do. Run away? Tch, where would I even go? Call the cops, maybe? Oh right, like I wanna be thrown into some foster home full of complete strangers. Plus, I doubt they'd even believe my story and think I was just some no-good brat...like she does. _

Dan pulled his knees to his chest, still crying. All he ever felt was worthlessness, hopelessness, and uselessness. Every dang day, he lived in fear of his "mother" who was supposed to love and care for him. Instead, all he ever received was emotional and physical abuse.

He can still vaguely remember the first time she had hurt him.

It happened when he was about five. His deadbeat dad just recently up and walked out on them. Not that he was around much in the first place. Because of his lack of company, little Dan didn't see it as a big deal. He could not understand, however, why his mommy was so upset. His stubby legs lead him over to the sofa, where she was bawling hysterically. Before he could even ask what was wrong, she quickly spun around and glared daggers at him. The five year old gulped and stepped back only to have his wrist be way too tightly grasped. The distraught woman then rambled on about how this was all the child's fault and how dare her husband leave her or something like that.

That's not what burned his memory though. What really stung, was when she said:

"You know, Danny. Your good-for-nothing father left me with some shitty stuff. A house to take care of all by myself. A broken heart. But do you want to know what the absolute WORST thing he left me with is?" She narrowed her eyes at him and whispered, "You."

Current Dan shuddered at the painful memory that he tried so many times to forget. He knew, though, that he'd always remember what she said and how it scarred him for all his lame life. After that incident, he was frequently bombarded with insults and hits. Recently, his mother would get her boyfriend, Fred, to join in on the fun of relentlessly abusing him.

He received dozens of scars, cuts, and bruises over the years. Usually, a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans would do the trick in covering them up. Facial wounds were much more tricky to conceal, however. The few times someone brought up his injuries, Dan would scoff and say that he got into a fight. He could never speak about what was happening to him. What if no one believed him? What if SHE found out about his attempts of getting help and finished the score once and for all?

Dan exhaled and looked at the clock. It was now 7:00pm. He was used to his mother always stepping out of the house unexpectedly, not returning for hours and sometimes days. He just wish it didn't have to be on this particular day that she decided to ditch him. Now, he was left alone with his thoughts that constantly taunted, tortured, and haunted him. He was his only companion. This is how it has always been...and most likely, how it always will be.

_So...this is it, huh? This is the life I live and always will have? Where's my escape route? Becoming a runaway or a foster kid is definitely out of the question. That only leaves…_

He froze. Chills shot down his spine and throughout his entire ...he couldn't possibly do such a thing...could he? It WAS the only option left, however, if he desired to escape this constant torment, which he very much did. Slowly, he rose to his feet and started heading out the kitchen, leaving the huge mess behind.

It's not like he's never heard of anyone else commit this. Why, just last year, a fourteen year old girl on his block named,Sandy Walters or something, did it. From the many rumors he heard, her life at home was very similar to his.

He went around the corner, through the living room, down the hall and into the bathroom. He stared intensely at his reflection for a while, mustering up strength for what he was about to attempt. The 12 year old took in a sharp yet shaky breath as reached out and opened the mirror, revealing the medicine cabinet. He gazed upon the array of multiple bright orange bottles with white lids. He snatched a couple and opened them up, spilling the contents into his sweaty, pale palms. For a minute, he just looked down at colorful pills in his hand. Then, he stiffened up his body, clenched his fist and brought the capsules up into his mouth.

_Ding dong_

The sound of the doorbell going off caused Dan to spit everything out on the the linoleum floor.

_Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong._

"Gah! Who the heck could it possibly be?!" the tween grumbled as he stomped up to his front door. Upon opening it, he saw the LAST person he expected to see.

"Hiya, Dan! Happy birthday!" Chris joyfully shouted.

Shock overtook Dan for a moment, along with confusion. "What the- Chris! Why, er, how, uh...Uggghhhh, alright, alright. First, what are you doing here? Second, how'd you know it was my birthday? And lastly, how on earth did ya figure out where I lived?"

The brunette straightened himself up and cleared his throat. "I came here to Van Nuys to visit my Aunt Shirley. She lives only a few blocks away. And don't ya remember? Back at summer camp, when we were all called to introduce ourselves, we had to tell when our birthdays were too. To answer your last question, my cousin Benny gave me directions to your place, so here I am!"

"...Oh….wait, BENNY is your COUSIN?! Ugh, that kid is a total jerk! How does he even know where I live, anyway?" exclaimed Dan.

"He said he egged your house once." Chris replied.

"Grrr...so he was the loser who did that, huh? When I get my hands around his neck-"

"Uhhh, Dan?" spoke up Chris, interrupting his friend's muttering.

"Huh? Oh, sorry."

A wide grin stretched upon Chris' face. "It's okay, man. Oh, and look what I got ya!"

The brunette then whipped out a gift bag that he'd been hiding behind his back the whole time. Dan looked at the present, wide eyed. It was the first gift he's been given for years. It was a vivid red color with bright orange streamers tied upon the bag's handles. He hesitantly reached out and grabbed it.

"Um, I don't know what to say…" Dan muttered.

"Open it!"

Dan looked at Chris for a moment, then shrugged as he pulled open the bag and took out the tissue paper. He gasped at what he saw inside. He reached in and brought it up into the air.

"No way!" he shouted excitedly. "You got me the movie, Al: The Viking Killer?! Dude, I've been wanting to see that forever!"

Chris nodded happily. "Yeah! I remember you going on about how much you wanted to watch it at Camp Atrocious. So, I saved up my allowance and got it for you."

Dan paused. "Wait...you...you've been setting aside allowance..for me?" he asked slowly, as if it was a new thing for someone to put effort into getting him something.

"Haha Yep! Oh, and I saved a few of my Aunt's super delicious chocolate chip cookies for you!"

The other boy looked into the gift bag and sure enough, three yummy-looking treats were at the bottom covered in plastic wrap. He could not wait to devour them. Dan then looked up to his best and only friend's face.

"Chris...This...Er, uh….I…" he struggled with finding the right words but then let out a sigh. "...Thank you."

Chris then went over and swung his arm around his pal's shoulders. "No problem, buddy! Anything for my best friend!" A car horn went off. Both boys looked over to see Chris' parents vehicle waiting out front.

"Well, I better get going before mom and dad get mad at me." He took his arm off Dan and went down the front steps before quickly spinning back around.

"Oh, and guess what?!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna be moving here in a couple of weeks. I'll even be attending the same school as you!"

Dan's mouth flew open. "What?! Really?!"

Chris nodded. "Yup! I can't wait to see ya again! We're gonna have so much fun, I can feel it! Well, good bye!" He turned back around and dashed down to his family's car. As he zoomed off, he waved back at his hot-headed friend, who returned the gesture.

Young Dan went back inside and closed the door behind him. He quickly ran down to his room and put away his gift in a place where his mother would never find it. After doing so, he figured that he should start cleaning up the place to avoid another beating.

While tidying up the home, things suddenly seemed brighter. The heaviness that was in his heart made room for..something else. It was a combination of will, bravery, and even hope. Now, the aches and pains of the past were to never be forgotten, however, his future now seemed a lot less bleak and meaningless. It was all thanks to his best friend, too.


	4. Another Dan Vs fic is approaching

Hola again! Thanks everybody for leaving the awesome reviews this Dan Vs fic! ugh, it took me forever to complete this one. Not because I had writer's block or anything...it's kinda sorta maybe because I have a huge tendency to procrastinate. Heheh oops. 0_0

Anyway, I just posted this to say that I have already started yet another Dan Vs fanfic. It'll be titled 'Bittersweet Revenge'. This one, like Annual Apathy and That's What Friends Do, will touch upon the friendship between Dan and Monkeyface McGee (a.k.a Chris)...I have obsession with friendship fiction, okay?! XD lol I am not entirely sure when it'll be posted though I'm aiming for it to be done sometime next week.

Alrighty then. Well that's all I got to say for now soooo...have a good day! And be sure to burn down your enemies' houses! Make them suffer for all they did wrong!

(I'm looking at you, Jimmy from my third grade class. You will pay for stealing my milk money. You. Will. Pay.)


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